If you have guests coming to Richmond that need a hotel, I can highly recommend Hotel Sierra at Short Pump Town Center.

Anitra and I stayed here over the weekend in a well furnished, modern King suite, complete with a full kitchen, overlooking Short Pump Mall.

The staff was professional and courteous and although the rack rate on the room is ridiculously high ($595), rooms are available from $85 to $120 a night. The facilities are in great shape too including the spa, pool, fitness center, bar, and breakfast area. It’s definitely worth checking out if you have friends of family coming to the area that need a hotel room.

There are 0 comments on this article.

Melon party!

Photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tfenderson/sets/72157621878013283/

There is 1 comment on this article.

A few photos from the First Market Mile Kids Run.

There are 0 comments on this article.

Henrico County residents may bring their Christmas trees to one of several recycling centers.

From Fri., Dec. 26 to Sun., Jan. 11, Henrico County residents may bring their Christmas trees to one of several locations in the County. This free service is offered for residential use, not for commercial tree lots.

You can read more about locations, etc. for Christmas tree recycling here: ChristmasTreeRecyc08.pdf

There are 0 comments on this article.

A conversation on Facebook early this morning with an old friend (from my days in T.A.G. at Maybeury Elementary School) prompted a run to Krispy Kreme—a nice end to one hell of a morning.

3:45AM

I’m awakened by a small voice next to my head. “Daddy, I can’t sleep. My cough is keeping me up.” I head downstairs, let Porter out to pee, round up some guaifenesin for Teagan, head back upstairs to give meds and then tuck her back in.

4:08AM

Back downstairs to let Porter in. Greeted by a profusely bleeding eye. Blood running down face and nose. Fabulous! The blood is dark though—almost brown which means it’s definitely not fresh. That rules out her hitting her face on a bush while she was outside this morning. Maybe it’s just all swelling/pooled blood finally leaking. Still, the kitchen is a huge, bloody mess. Seriously. If a forensics team came into the kitchen right now, they’d think someone was butchered.

4:10AM

Making coffee. I need caffeine before I can deal with this mess. oh my fucking god. look at all the blood!

[Note to self: we’re out of paper towels now. Add that to the shopping list.]

4:20AM

Coffee made. Cup #1 of many to follow ingested. Holy crap today is going to be a long day.

5:01AM

Most of the blood is cleaned up. Porter’s eye has stopped leaking. In fact, she’s sound asleep on her bed, probably dreaming about bacon or something. I’m wide awake but will need a nap by 10:00AM

6:22AM

Talking to Amy Mays Tolley on Facebook about being woken up early by her kids, old dogs, and Krispy Kreme. She prompts a doughnut run.

Damn her…but OMG these are good doughnuts. I needed something a little sweet this morning.

There are 0 comments on this article.

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
1241 PM EDT SAT SEP 6 2008

* HANNA IS EXPECTED TO BRING AVERAGE RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES…WITH SOME ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE…TO THE FENDERSON’S BACK YARD….FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING…THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR
* PORTIONS OF THE BACK YARD INCLUDING THE BOTTOM OF THE STEPS…NEAR THE SHED…THAT LOW SPOT NEXT TO THE GARDEN BEDS…THE BROKEN PART OF THE SIDEWALK NEAR THE MAILBOX.
ALL INTERESTS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR FORECASTS AND ANY ADDITIONAL
WARNINGS ISSUED AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION.
$$
44

There are 0 comments on this article.

We hit Cupertino’s this morning, grabbing a bagel and coffee before heading to Whole Foods to gawk at the Richmonders gawking at the food.

We do love our grocery stores around here, don’t we?

I thought it wouldn’t be that busy, what with Hanna making her way through town. I couldn’t have been more wrong (I should have checked out the former cube monkey’s blog first). The place was absolutely PACKED—every aisle, every section of the store. There were even 5 or 6 people doing tastings at the wine bar! A little rain won’t keep a Richmonder from checking out the new grocery store in town.

What a store.

With the exception of Manning’s Hominy, available only at Ukrops here in town, and Tom Leonard’s kick-ass ribeye, I have no reason to shop anywhere else. Anitra was thrilled to find so many dairy products that she can eat (she’s allergic to cow’s milk but not goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, etc). I think she cleaned out the yogurt section this morning. I picked up a couple dozen littleneck clams and some french bread for lunch today and will definitely be back to frequent the seafood section.

They have wonderful looking meats and cheeses, a great wine selection, and lots of emphasis on local food (including some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from Colonial Beach). Virginia-based farms and farmers are promoted in every section of the store, often with photos of the farmers themselves.

If you’re looking for something to do on this rainy day, I’d put people-watching at Whole Foods high on the list—but save your shopping for another day. It’s a bit of a madhouse in there today.

There are 3 comments on this article.